The Home Depot
People
Founders, executives, and the show's voices
Bernie Marcus, Arthur Blank, Ken Langone, Pat Farrah founded The Home Depot in Atlanta, Georgia (1978). Every named human in the case file, grouped by their role in it.
Role mix
Founders
Bernie Marcus
founderFired from Handy Dan at 48 with no equity; built the warehouse hardware store he had told Langone would put Handy Dan out of business. CEO 1978 to 1997.
On 1 episode
Arthur Blank
founderThe finance and operations half of the founding pair; CEO 1997 to 2000; owner of the Atlanta Falcons since 2002.
On 1 episode
Ken Langone
founderThe investment banker who raised the $2 million from forty investors, took 5 percent, and has never sold a share.
On 1 episode
Pat Farrah
founderThe merchandiser. His HomeCo warehouse in Los Angeles was the Home Depot concept at full size before Home Depot had a store.
On 1 episode
Executives
Bob Nardelli
executiveGE's runner-up, CEO 2000 to 2007: doubled revenue by doubling the store count while comparable sales stayed flat and the floor culture thinned.
On 1 episode
Frank Blake
executiveCEO 2007 to 2014: froze the store count, retired 30 percent of the shares, and built the distribution network that carried e-commerce.
On 1 episode